2 A Systems Approach to the Year 2000 (Y2k) Issue

Abstract

AbstractWidespread disruption has been predicted for businesses as the sins of programmers in the not too distant past are found out. The long term consequences of using only two digits for the year in date codes and other memory saving techniques are soon to be unavoidably upon us all. PC's and other electronic devices are relatively easy to check out and fix, although many people are still failing to do so. Less easy to track down and deal effectively with are the myriad types and numbers of embedded chips built into the equipment, machinery and control systems that have been installed and used world‐wide over the last twenty years or so. The real Y2k issue for businesses turns out to be contending with the unpredictable consequences of a widespread, common mode failure both within and outside of a company's legal boundaries. The paper describes simple means by which any business can be better prepared in order to withstand the effects of the millennium changeover. Basic systems engineering principles are described that produce the basis for understanding core business processes. A useful technique of dependency modelling can be used to prepare contingency plans and countermeasures. More importantly, the paper shows how vital it is to view a business as part of the greater business “system” of commercial activity – the extended enterprise concept or “system of systems” to which all businesses belong and which is the true focus for the Millennium bug problem.